Raleigh Maker Faire 2012

Although I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to at the Faire, there was a ton of stuff that was interesting enough for a mention. Many of these could probably merit their own separate article, and I didn’t get to talk about everything, so feel free to comment, or better yet write in to the tip line if you feel like you deserve more “air time.”

Although I had no idea what to expect at the NC Maker Faire, I was pleasantly surprised to see several well made electrical vehicles. One of note was [Lab306]‘s Fox body electric Mustang. Although it would have been impressive by itself, it was made by a high school class and has been featured in several publications. Be sure to check out their excellent website, or the short video of it after the break! Don’t you wish you went to that high school?

[Dino] has been featured here at [HAD] on many occasions, so I was excited to see some of his inventions in person and meet the man himself. [Dino] didn’t disappoint, bringing a display that included a working demonstration of his upcoming cover story for Make Magazine – an automatic doggie ball-thrower. Also there were some crazy musical instruments, what appeared to be a cylindrical oscilloscope display, and a robot rolling around with the thrown balls (and kids).

As seen in the video, one thing to remember if you’re displaying at a Faire, kids will definitely be there, and will interact with anything they can. This can be good or bad, so make sure you design your display, like [Hackaweek]’s to be the former. [Dino] also had a projector pointed at the wall playing some video. This made for a great attention-getter! Check out the short videos below of his ball thrower in action and a view of the show from one of his robots! Continue reading “NC Maker Faire 2012: Hackaweek Display”→

Robot combat has inspired makers probably since the first one was conceived. Whether it’s an epic struggle between two future superpowers, or simply a friendly match of robot hockey, it’s always fun to watch. NC Maker Faire 2012 was no exception as [Carolina Combat Robots] had a small arena with remote control robots going at it. The matches were incredibly popular, and I was glad to be able to see some of it from my table next door!